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AIBU?

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Am I out of touch or is this poor professionalism?

29 replies

cleanormean · 23/04/2024 20:05

Took on a fortnightly cleaner at the beginning of the year, agreed she'd do Tuesdays. Never had a cleaner before but with a toddler and both parents working full time with no external childcare, it's become an unmanageable ask to keep on top of the house to a standard we're satisfied with. However there are a number of things I think are quite unprofessional, but I'd like some other perspectives to confirm whether or not they are reasonable to raise:

  1. She doesn't inform us of what time she is coming until approximately 10pm the night before, it's never a consistent time and we have no say in the timing. It either works or we go without

  2. She brings a helper (or two), however in the 8 or so visits we've had so far, it's almost never been the same people. One week it was two teenage girls, and another week she didn't come herself but sent two strangers in her place. This is not a cleaning agency, this is a sole trader who brings people she knows/friends who are looking for some cash in hand work

  3. We live in a very hard water area and thus our toilet bowl gets quite a lot of limescale build up. This is never cleaned and nothing is ever put down to help remove the limescale, so the toilet doesn't look at though it's been cleaned after the visit

  4. Hoovering and mopping of the hard floors downstairs is only done in the areas people walk, i.e. under the breakfast bar or in the corners by the cabinets are always left untouched. Similar story for the (easily accessible) corners of carpeted rooms

  5. Kitchen cupboard doors aren't wiped despite any obvious marks

  6. We have a double sink, and they will not lift up the chrome draining insert to clean the actual sink underneath (neither do they clean the insert)

  7. We have patio doors with blinds, if the blinds are still halfway down (due to being overlooked by neighbours), only the bottom half of the window is cleaned

  8. Lightswitch faces are dusted but shelves (with a single ornament on) aren't

  9. They do not clean the shelf that our toiletries sit on within the shower, despite removing all of the toiletries beforehand

  10. They don't appear to vacuum bathrooms

The agreement was bathrooms, kitchen, downstairs floors vacuumed and mopped, carpets vacuumed, dusting and internal glass. Our house is immaculately tidy for when they arrive so there are zero obstacles for them to have to work around. They are here for 75 minutes and we pay £50 (in Leicestershire).

We have previously highlighted bits that appeared to have been missed and were told it was accidental, however the quality of the cleaning has not improved despite the price having increased by £5 since we took them on.

Are our expectations too high or is (at least some of) this as unprofessional as it feels like it is?

OP posts:
SausageRoll2020 · 23/04/2024 20:56

Looks like it's time to find a different cleaner

loobylou10 · 23/04/2024 20:54

Nope - next!

lightsandtunnels · 23/04/2024 20:53

They don't sound great OP. Have you given them an actual list of tasks you want them to carry out? Some people need telling specifically what needs to be done in each room rather than just stating bathroom or kitchen as they're not able to use their initiative (not a dig at cleaners specifically just some people in general!) Different people doesn't surprise me particularly - are they all insured - cash in hand may indicate they are not. If I was you, I'd be looking around for a new cleaner and use an actual business or someone that comes highly recommended. That said, it is so difficult to find reliable cleaners - I struggle with this too for my holiday let.

Kindnessaboveall · 23/04/2024 20:46

You are not being unreasonable.
The work you want done is not being done
The work that is done is not being done to an acceptable standard.
But what would worry me most is the random people she is bringing into your home. You have no idea who these people are. You know nothing about them.Your contract is with her.
How does this work as regards insurance?
I would be looking for someone else.